Compiled
by Evaann Dorris
DBJ Contributing Writer
At the grand old age of 11, Rick Parsons of Vance, Miss,
had his introduction to agriculture. It wasn’t a
very glamorous or auspicious beginning, but it was one
he remembers vividly.
“My grandfather introduced me to farming back in
1957 when I was only 11 years old,” says Parsons.
“I chopped cotton. And if you’ve ever chopped
cotton, you know what a tough job that is.
“And 1957 was a very wet year in the Mississippi
Delta,” he says. “I’ve never done anything
I hated so badly. I used to say if I ever had a son, the
first job he would learn on the farm is to chop cotton
. . . and when it’s wet.”
Parsons, however, must have graduated from cotton chopping
class with honors.
Today, he is considered by many of his Mississippi farming
peers as “The Ultimate Farm Manager” and has
earned the recognition as the Lancaster/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern
Farmer of the Year for Mississippi for 2003. The MSU Extension
Service nominated him for the honor.
Jimmy Avery, an administrator with the MSU Extension Service,
says Parsons, an MSU graduate, exemplifies “the
ultimate farm manager.”
“Rick works hard to make a farming operation as
efficient and productive as possible,” Avery says.
“He gives careful attention to technology, bookkeeping,
precision agriculture, aerial photographs, a good labor
force, efficiency and his marketing strategy.”
Parsons and seven other state finalists from Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
and Virginia will be honored during the Sunbelt Expo in
Moultrie, GA., Oct. 13-16. The 2003 Lancaster/Sunbelt
Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year will be announced
at a luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
As the Mississippi state winner, Parsons will receive
$2,500 from Swisher International, who, along with the
Sunbelt Expo, has sponsored the Southeastern Farmer of
the Year Award for 14 years. He will also receive a jacket
and a $200 gift certificate from the Williamson-Dickie
Company; a $500 gift certificate from Southern States;
and a fireproof home safe ($300 value) from Misty Morn
Safe Company.
If he is selected as the regional winner, he will receive
another stash of impressive prizes.
From a cotton chopper introduction, Parsons started farming
on his own while a college student. He started growing
soybeans on 90 acres of farmland owned by his father,
renting the land and equipment from him.
“And what valuable experience that was,” says
Parsons. “Having no other labor cost, I was the
employer and the employee.”
In 1972, Parsons began managing the soybean operation
for S. M. Fewell & Co., Inc. And in only two years
became manager of the entire operation. Under his leadership,
expansion and growth continued and in 1986 a partnership
with other stockholders was set up, forming Fewell Planting
Co..
Today’s massive operation covers a total of 9,421
acres. There’s 3,892 acres of irrigated corn that
produces 176.5 bushels per acre; 1,030 acres of irrigated
cotton, yielding 918 pounds per acre; 1,558 acres of wheat,
producing 46 bushels per acre; and 746 irrigated acres
of soybeans that yield 41 bushels per acre (double cropped).
Also included are rice, another soybean operation, timber
and pecans that are rented to a third party.
“When I first took over as manager of the operation,
we had a lot of problems,” says Parsons. “Problems
in just about every area—labor, marketing, bookkeeping,
technology, equipment. We went to work on solving the
problems and making the operation as efficient and productive
as possible.”
Parsons has a list of objectives that he says helped produce
the highly successful turnaround in his farming endeavors:
technology; bookkeeping; precision agriculture; aerial
photos; good labor; efficient operation; and marketing
strategy.
“I thoroughly enjoy making everything fit together,”
he says. “We are on the cutting edge of a lot of
new technology and precision agriculture is a must. In
our current bookkeeping process, everything we spend is
charged to one of the crops. We now have a tremendous
labor force and use the aerial photos to help us plan
our fields for the future.
“Our equipment is modern and up-to-date with the
latest technology,” he adds, “and we use a
marketing plan to minimize risk. To keep up with the market
daily, we use a DTN computer screen, which updates market
prices every 10 minutes.”
Another prime example of Parsons’ management skills
is evident in a 900-acre cotton field. “That 900
acres at one time was chopped up into 131 fields,”
he says. “It was hard to manage. Today, it’s
down to two fields with rows over a mile long and much
more efficient.”
Being selected as the 2003 Lancaster/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern
Farmer of the Year for Mississippi is the second major
award this year for Parsons. In July, he was presented
North Area Cropland Conservationist Award by the Mississippi
Association of Conservation District, Inc. Both awards
add to Parsons’ reputation as the “Ultimate
Farm Manager.”
Parsons also finds time to take an active role as a community
leader. He serves on the Board for the Tallahatchie County
Farm Bureau; is on the Board of Directors for Tutwiler
Ginning Company; is an Elder at Sumner Presbyterian Church;
is a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity; and is on the
Board of Directors for the Delta Council.
“Carlisle (wife) and I both enjoy taking active
roles in our community,” says Parsons. “This
area of Mississippi has been good to us for a lot of years,
and we just want to give something back in return.”
The Carsons have one son, Richard S. Parsons, who is the
Chief of Staff to Commissioner Jim Newsome, Chairman of
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington,
DC.
Three previous Mississippi state finalists have been selected
as the Lancaster/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the
Year – Kenneth Hood of Gunnison in 1992, Ed Hester
of Benoit in 1995, and Willard Jack of Belzoni in 2001.
DBJ
